Idol Chatter with Amy Adams

On last week's Motown-themed episode of American Idol, there were a number of performances that were pretty, um, awful. Amy Adams's spirited rendition of "Dancing in the Street" was most definitely not one of them. Yet the 24-year-old with the hot-pink hairdo was the singer kicked to the curb by fickle (and possibly tone-deaf) viewers. Is this a sign that the apocalypse is near? Or was the audience simply watching with the volume turned off? Desperate to achieve some closure on this embarrassing chapter in the talent competition's history, TV Guide Online rang up the Gen-Y Celine Dion to trade conspiracy theories.

TV Guide Online: Let's start with the most ridiculous incident in your time on the show. Please tell me you've recovered from Simon Cowell's bizarre remark about your "resemblance" to Jay Leno.
Amy Adams: (Laughs) You know what? It wasn't even really a recovery thing that I had to go through. It was just something that I had to clarify. I was wondering, "Does he think I look like a man in drag?" It wasn't that wicked [a comment] to me.

TVGO: Still, it was like he plucked Jay Leno's name out of a hat.
Adams: Plucked is right. Simon never really knew what to say to me. He'd either smile or say, "I don't know what to say" — until the random comment about Jay Leno!

TVGO: Which I'm sure made you miss the days when he couldn't think of anything to say!
Adams: (Laughs) Yeah, exactly! What about those days? But after I was eliminated, The Tonight Show called and asked me to do a sketch with Jay. It was very charming.

TVGO: Leno comes on past my bedtime. What was the bit?
Adams: He wrote [for me to say], "It's been kind of a tough week, but there is something I wanted everyone to know, and it's... I love you, Daddy!" Then he was like, "Go sing that song you sang at Thanksgiving with Uncle Kevin [Eubanks, the Tonight Show bandleader]." It was very, very cool.

TVGO: I don't want to try to make you diss your friends or anything, but...
Adams: I won't; that's not my style, so you're okay there.

TVGO: Drat. Anyway, given that there were a few pretty horrendous performances, were you surprised that you wound up not only in the bottom three, but in last place?
Adams: Well, people were sort of stunned by the fact that [the competitors in the bottom three spots] were who we were and had given the performances that we had the night before. But it was obviously showing how unpredictable America is. I didn't assume [I was safe], though. Someone has to go every week; it just depends on which week is going to be yours. And I'm not mad. I don't look at it as, like, a closed-door thing. I really look at it as a set platform, and from here on out, [my future is] all in what I choose to do with the exposure that I was granted.

TVGO: In hindsight, do you regret keeping your hair pink? After all, pastel locks didn't work so well for Idol 2 contestant Vanessa Olivarez, either.
Adams: No, I really don't regret it. People have called it the "pink-haired curse," but I don't [feel like it jinxed me]. In the time that I was granted, short as it was, I established a wonderful fan base. Also, there's been great controversy over the fact that I did go as soon as I did. I think that's the greatest part about that whole situation — I'm not going to fade into the Idol background [the way I might have if I'd been eliminated] sixth or seventh, kind of when everybody starts getting amazingly good. Going so soon, people are going to remember, "Oh my gosh, that was the girl who was robbed!" That's the word that they always use — "robbed." And they're going to remember that when I come out with my album in the future. They're going to say, "Oh my gosh, that's the girl who was robbed on Season 3!" — even when [the CD photo] doesn't have my dead giveaway of looking like Jay Leno! (Laughs)

TVGO: What if that doesn't happen for you? Could you still be happy if you don't get to guest star on Boston Public or headline a big movie like From Matt Rogers to Amy Adams?
Adams: (Laughs hysterically) Oh my gosh, that is so funny! Me and Matt would make that happen no matter what, because we'd just have to. Even if it was just our videos. People would be really freaked out, but we don't care — that's what would make it sell! (Calms down) Of course I could be happy. I was happy before. This was an honor, not something that was going to make me or break me mentally or emotionally. The thing with me is, I'm really going to make [my career] happen. I'm really going to make Boston Public want to call me and...

TVGO: You know I was kidding, right? Boston Public got canceled.
Adams: You know what I'm saying! (Sarcastic) Thanks a lot. Click. (Laughs) That would be funny if I just hung up, huh?

TVGO: Why, yes. Now I'm going to have to write that you did.
Adams: Great. "Yeah, she's got a really bad attitude."

TVGO: Don't worry. I have a feeling nobody will believe it.